Container closure



Aug. 4, 1964 s. LOWEN 3,143,235

CONTAINER CLOSURE Original Filed Oct. 30, 1958 l Y 46 Z/ 41 37 37INVENTOR. SMIVLEV LOWE/V r om/E/ United States Patent 3,143,235CONTAINER CLOSURE Stanley Lowen, 37 Huntington Drive, Yonkers, N.Y.Original application Oct. 30, 1958, Ser. No. 770,680, new Patent No.3,053,407, dated Sept. 11, 1962. Divided and this application June 18,1962, Ser. No. 203,181

1 Claim. (Cl. 215-40) This invention relates to container closures andmore particularly to a sealing element generally interposed between acontainer and the cap therefor.

This application is a division of copending application Serial Number770,680, filed on the 30th day of October 1958, and now Patent No.3,053,407, granted September 11, 1962.

Innumerable liquid commodities are today packaged in bottles of glass,organic plastic, or other materials. The liquid commodity, aftermanufacture, is loaded into the container, a closure then being appliedto the container to prevent escape of the liquid during transportationand storage. An ever popular closure means is a threaded cap whichengages threads on the container itself. A major virtue of such closure,is that it is readily removable when the container reaches the ultimateconsumer who wishes to dispense the contents.

The desired characteristics for a closure are fairly obvious. It shouldeffectively seal the contents of the container therein so that duringthe transportation of the container, the contents are held securelytherein despite vibration, agitation, and shaking of the container.Since all liquids are more or less volatile, during storage as well asduring transportation, no escape through evaporation of the liquidshould occur. Furthermore, it is desirable that the closure not presenttoo great difficulties to the user who wishes to remove it from thecontainer in order to get at the contents.

Liners have heretofore been provided for use inside sealing caps. Onewidely used is a pulp and vinyl liner, commonly known in the trade as apv liner. This liner is a flat disc in configuration, generally producedby a simple stamping operation from a sheet of the material. The lineris simply deployed against the top of a container cap and held there byan adhesive. Upon engagement of the container and the cap, the linerwill contact the top edge of the container to effect a seal. But use ofthe pv liner presents distinct disadvantages. A major disadvantage isthat in order to achieve an effective seal, especially as may benecessary where the liquid is quite volatile, considerable force inscrewing the cap down onto the container may be employed. The resultingcondition is known as a hard lock, and the significance of this is thatthe user may find it quite diflicult to remove the cap. Moreover, instamping such liners, frequently an incomplete disc or partial linerresults, as where the end of a sheet of material is reached. Automaticmachinery is generally employed in disposing liners within caps, andtherefore it is an expectable consequence that a partial liner may beused within a cap. Obviously, an inadequate seal will result.Furthermore, a partial liner, or shavings from the stamping operation,can drop into the container and adversely affect its contents.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novelsealing element for use in sealing containers which element fulfills theconditions above enumerated as desirable in such application. That is,such element will be unusually effective in its sealing action, and yetnot require a hard lock to achieve such effectiveness.

Another object herein is to provide means for retaining a sealingelement within a cap which does not require application of an adhesive.From such provision distinct advantages flow. If such retention can beachieved without the use of an adhesive, there is no danger that thepackaged liquid will dissolve the adhesive to cause loss of the liner.Nor can an adhesive contaminate the contents of the container.Dispensing with the need for an adhesive also solves the problem whichmay be presented where no adhesive is available for the particularmaterials from which the cap and liner are formed. In achieving thisobject in the manner here provided, in addition, a ready means ispresented to assure the presence of a sealing element within each cap.

How these and many other objects are to be implemented will become clearthrough a consideration of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows in section, a container cap having a novel sealing elementconforming to the present invention therein, the cap and element beingsituated above the opening of a container as would be the casepreparatory to sealing the bottle;

FIG. 2 shows in section a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows in section a third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 shows in section a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a cap 36 having threading 37, an intermediateelement generally designated 38 being associated with cap 36 anddisposed in part therein. EX- tending upwardly through aperture 41 inthe cap 36 is a threaded portion 42 in which occurs a hole 43 ofrestricted size by reference to the opening of the container with whichthe present embodiment is to be employed. An auxiliary cap 44 havingthreads 45 provides closure means for the restricted hole 43. Theintermediate element 38 has a resilient sealing portion disposed withinthe cap 36. Such sealing portion has a downwardly inclined lip 46 and adownwardly conical wall 47, which lip 46 and downwardly conical wall 47provide for double action scaling in the manner heretofore described inconnection with the first embodiment illustrated. It will be understoodthat the present second embodiment is for use as a unit to convert arelatively wide mouthed container for restricted dispensation of thecontents of the container as by sprinkling.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the second embodiment, there appears a cap50 having threads 51 therein. Again there is present an intermediateelement, generally designated 52. Such intermediate element 52 has agrip portion 53 extending upwardly through an aperture 54 in the cap 50.Retention of the intermediate element 52 within the cap 50 mayconveniently be provided by utilizing a friction fit between gripportion 53 and aperture 54. Extending downwardly in the intermediateelement 52 is an applicator portion 55, which obviously will enter theliquid contents of the container with which the cap 50 is engaged, fordispensation of'the contents thereof. The intermediate element 52 has,extending radially from the grip and applicator portions, a resilientsealing portion within the cap. Such sealing portion has a lip 56 and adownwardly conical wall 57 which will serve to seal the container withwhich the cap 50 is engaged in the manner heretofore described inconnection with the first embodiment illustrated above.

A third embodiment appears in FIG. 3, such third embodiment employingcap 60 having threads 61 therein, for engagement with a container. Thereis an interiorly depending wall 62 within cap 60, such wall 62 in theembodiment shown being integrally formed with the cap 60. Disposedwithin the cap is an intermediate element generally designated 63. Suchintermediate element 63 has a wall portion 64 surrounding the interiorlydepending wall 62, and in frictional engagement therewith. In addition,the intermediate element 63 has a lip 65 and downwardly conical wall 66for sealing a container when cap 60 is engaged therewith, in the mannerheretofore described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.The interengagement of interiorly depending wall 62 and wall portion 64of intermediate element 63 can be resorted to as an alternative meansfor retaining a sealing element within a cap. However, further utilityfor this embodiment is possible by mounting a brush or other applicatorwithin the hollow defined by interiorly depending wall 62, which brushor applicator would extend downwardly into the container when the cap 60is engaged therewith. A force fit or other convenient expedient could beemployed to hold such brush or applicator within wall 62.

Unlike the foregoing embodiments, that shown in FIG. 4 is for use inconnection with a container of specialized form. The container 70 has aneck portion 71 with threads 77, At the top of neck 71 is a top surface72 and inclining downwardly from top surface 72 is sloping surface 73,the net eifect of the presence of such sloping surface 73 being toprovide a restricted opening 74 into the container 70. For sealing suchcontainer, a cap '75 is provided having threads 76 for interengagementwith threads 77 on neck 71 of the container. Disposed substantiallyentirely within cap is an intermediate element 78 which has a plugportion 79 adapted toenter and obstruct opening74 into the container,when the cap is engaged with the container. The intermediate element 78in addition has a retainer portion 80 extending upwardly throughaperture 81 in the cap 75, such retainer portion 80 having an overhang82 of greater diameter than that of aperture 81, whereby once theoverhang 82 is forced through aperture 81 the intermediate element 78 issecured within cap 75. Finally, the intermediate element 78 has a lip 83and a downwardly conical wall 84, together comprising a resilientsealing portion in such intermediate element. It will be observed inFIG. 4 that the angle of slope of sloping surface 73 is steeper than istrue for downwardly conical wall 84. Therefore, when cap 75 is screweddown upon neck 71 of the container, internal circular edge 85 at thejuncture between top surface 72 and sloping surface 73 in the containerwill strike on under surface 86 of downwardly conical wall 84, while lip83 moves into engagement with the top surface 72 of the container 70, toprovide double action sealing means in all respects as effective as thatprovided for the foregoing embodiments.

I claim:

In the combination of a container having an opening therein and anannular flat sealing surface surrounding said opening, said openinghaving an inwardly inclined, downwardly disposed wall defining arestricted opening in said container; a closure member engageable withsaid container for covering said opening, said closure member having anaperture therethrough, a plug portion for entry into said restrictedopening to obstruct the same; a retainer portion extending from the topof said plug portion through the aperture of said closure member andfrictionally engaged therewith; a sealing element laterally extendingmedially from said plug portion; said sealing element comprising anupwardly inclined wall making sealing contactwith the inwardly inclinedsurface of said container, said upwardly inclined wall terminatingadjacent the underside of said closure member at a point above the inneredge of the container surface, an initially downwardly inclined sealinglip extending from said inclined wall and containing said flat annularsealing surface, said line of juncture of said lip and said inclinedwall forming a fulcrum point whereby theclosure member pressing againstsaid fulcrum point will flatten said lip into engagement with thecontainer sealing surface and form a seal at said inner edge, the inneredge of said annular sealing surface contacting the upper portion ofsaid inclined wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,152,546 Phillips Sept. 5, 1915 1,760,841 Garhart May 7, 1930 FOREIGNPATENTS 539,920 Belgium Aug. 13, 1 955

